Why Thrawn Came Back
by Lady Ice
Summary: Don't tell me none of you wondered why Thrawn came back five years after the Emperor died only to attempt a New Empire from the ashes of the old one. Here's a possible senario, sort of relates to what the Chiss say in Vision.Does relate to Anakin or Vader


For those of you who have read my stories and realize my interest in the Skywalker family,   
you are probably wondering why I am switching to a tale about Thrawn. He is a forthcoming   
character in my Ani clone story and I felt that I needed to understand him before I wrote a major   
installment using him. I ask both George Lucas and Timothy Zahn's indulgence as I borrow   
their character for my own devices. I am not making money for this, I am just writing a story.   
Readers will please note that this is pure speculation on my part, if you want the real reason why   
Thrawn came back, write to Zahn. This is only an idea. The first section is taken, verbally at   
least, directly from Heir to the Empire, the first book in the Zahn Trilogy, pg176 of the   
paperback version. In the book the scene is from Pellaeon's POV and ends with his exit. And   
now.....  
  
  
Why Thrawn Came Back  
  
The statuary was fascinating. "It was my one failure, out on the Fringes.   
The one time when understanding a race's art gave me no insight at all into its   
psyche. At least at the time. Now, I believe I'm finally beginning to understand   
them." Thrawn remembered, aware of Captain Pellaeon as he stood mesmerized   
the alien sculpture writhing under the light.  
"I'm sure that will prove useful in the future." The diplomatic reply came   
almost unthinkingly.  
"I doubt it. I wound up destroying their world."  
Pellaeon's military reply was automatic before wincing as he passed the   
sculpture on his way out the door.  
  
If only that had been so.   
  
If it had, and the threat was over, he would almost certainly not be here.   
Granted the Empire, the Rebels and the rest of 'civilized' space did have a lot of   
resources that could be put to better, more efficient use in the perpetual war for   
survival the rest of the galaxy faced. But, it would not have been worth the effort   
had the Vong not raised their ugly heads.   
  
The worldship that had somehow broken through the edge of the galaxy had   
died, before Thrawn's scientists could discover much about it. Unfortunately, it   
had not died in time to kill the messenger that had sped back to the depth of the   
universe that the worldship had come from.   
  
As Thrawn gazed at the sinuous art as he remembered the preceding   
battles. The system had once been home to a population of sixteen billion people,   
all used to the life of a frontier society struggling against five things at once. His   
fleet had responded to a new threat and encountered the outlying base on a fertile   
moon of the last world encircling that star. After narrowly defeating its warships, the   
Imperial and Chiss forces had moved on the dwelling with lethal efficiency.   
Though these Vong had proved to be cunning warriors, they had been newly   
transplanted and unfamiliar with all the advantages of the local terrain. Ion blasts   
to the surrounding countryside had stirred up the bipolar charge of the unique   
weather and rained icy death on the enemy base. Some of the interior artifacts   
survived and were studied by Thrawn and other top Chiss tacticians. For several   
weeks, the Imperial ships had laid siege to the system, while information was   
bounced around. Finally, after days of becoming experts in all known aspects of   
this terrifying, nightmarish species, and hours of studying the shifting themes of the   
few artifacts of the bases' art, a military strategy was formed to attack the fourth   
planet.   
  
Even with the best tacticians he had ever known agreeing on how to   
remove the hostile threat, they had been wrong. In seconds a neatly plotted plan   
had fallen into chaos. These ships of living rock had been much more   
maneuverable than those lately stationed around the twelfth planet. Fighting   
against an incomprehensible foe, the third Chiss starfighter fleet had almost been   
wiped out.  
  
It had been the Imperials who had come to their rescue. With some of their   
more candid weapons they had turned the world to slagg. The three mighty   
Destroyers had picked off the coralskipps with more ease than the fighters could   
manage on their own. A few survivors had tried to run in the worldship, but the   
capital ships had quickly overtaken it. The first incursion of the Vong had been   
stopped, but all the inhabitants of wild space knew the day would come when they   
would return. A major threat was in the mists of the future. Waiting.  
  
A military consulari was called. Quickly the decision was reached that the   
denizens of Wild Space would not be able to handle an full-scale invasion alone.   
Indeed, some doubted whether all the galaxy, working together could handle these   
fierce intruders. Either way, they needed the Core worlds and 'civilized' space.   
The galaxy could no longer afford the disjointed, petty distinctions; it had survival   
to worry about.  
  
So Thrawn had decided he needed to go back, despite resolve not to. The sooner the better. He knew that the order the Empire provided was critical if a war machine was to be   
effective. He had studied the history of the squabbling Republic and knew that it   
would not have been be able to organize into the reactionary military the galaxy   
would need to face the next invasion. The Rebel Alliance, if it rejuvenated the   
Republic, would eventually fall prey to the feuds all over again. Democracy was for   
peace, this was war, it had to be the Empire.  
  
That didn't mean he couldn't change it. The Emperor had instituted many   
policies that Thrawn knew had been asking for rebellion. Each world had to be   
treated as valuable for the services it could provide, not unnecessarily ground   
under the heel of some deranged dark-sider. The anti-alien policy would have to   
be rooted out of the Imperial doctrine, discrimination never aided unity. The   
Empire often felt that potentially valuable resources like smugglers and others,   
were beneath them. He would change all that and help the galaxy see the need to   
use all possible resources to win.   
  
Thrawn turned to look out through the transparasteel at the white brillance   
of hyperspace. Stars he fought to live under burned on, uncaring. He turned then   
to gaze on the work of art, still writhing in its sphere of light.  
"I will beat you when you return. We will be ready."  
His words fell on only the silence and the laughing, mocking sculpture. 


End file.
